Ninja
Ninja: (Japanese), one taught assassination and espionage. Other names for them include "the stealers in," "shadows of darkness," Sulsa in Korean. They are thought to have begun during the Heian era (794-1185) in the mountains surrounding Kyoto, Japan, where they associated with Yamabushi (Jpn. "They who lie in the mountains,"ascetic Buddhist clergy in Japanese mountains). Daimyo (clan or province chiefs) recruited them from the poor, to infiltrate enemy forts and fortifications, assassinate, etc., especially in the early 15th century. Commoners feared and tortured them for their secrets-when they caught one. Odo Nobunaga and 146,000 troops captured, killed or tortured most of 4,000 ninja in 1581. Survivors escaped to the mountains or among villagers, then handed their "art" down from parent to child. After the 16th century, ninja clans, mostly from Iga and Koga provinces, earned fame in wars between daimyo. They turned thieves and assassins during the peaceful Edo (Tokyo) era (1603-1868). After World War II, stories of these "miracle workers" reached the West, along with karate and kung-fu. Some Western (Caucasian) martial artists, such as Daron Navron of Israel, Steven Hayes of America, etc. studied with top instructor Dr. Hatsumi Masaaki in Japan and taught modern ninjitsu back home, such as philosophy, unarmed combat, sword-fighting and camping, sometimes borrowed from American survivalist methods. In the early 1980s, false ninja "schools" and "teachers" swindled ninja film fans but vanished with the gradual decline in ninjitsu's popularity. Bmup1p21031.jpg|Brother Muscle vs. Ninjas Legend says they turn invisible, walk on ceilings, etc. Ninjitsu is a stealth fighting style, invented in the 4th century by Chinese general Sun Tsu. Ninja know silent slaying, dislocation of their own joints, long-term diving by breath control, meditation and detection-avoidance by heartbeat control. They practiced acrobatics from the crib, climbed walls, swam quietly, disguised and camouflaged themselves with black, hooded costumes for night missions and even disfigured themselves to avoid identification. They came from a few families specializing in ninja "art". They used such tools as gloves with metal hooks (shuko), collapsible boats, shuriken (throwing stars), etc. Ninja knew all arms, poisons and chemistry (for making smokescreens), etc. Their mission leader was called a jonin, organizers were named chunin and the lowest rank, who performed missions, genin (Frederic, 1988; Guiley, 1991; Maggio, 1991; Ben-Jochannan). In Media: They are stars of ninja films, action movies of good ninja fighting evil ninja, with unusual weapons. * They appeared in the James Bond spy movie You Only Live Twice (1967), Hong Kong kung-fu movies and chambara ( Japanese : "sword-swinging"; samurai movies). * Their claim to fame in the Western world is Enter the Ninja (US/Japan/Phillippines, 1981), dir. Menahem Golan. The subgenre runs from that to American Ninja 4: The Annihilation (1991), dir. Cedric Sunstrom. Cannon Films, kung-fu film distributor, also made many ninja movies, making movie stars of actors Steve James, Sho Kosugi and Jean-Claude Van Damme * Wolverine, Daredevil, the Tick and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles all fought ninja assassins such as Electra, the Hand, the District Manager and the Foot Clan, led by the Shredder, popularizing them as Dark Age of Comic Books characters. * In the Modern Age, Batman, a ninja, fights the League of Shadows, led by Ra's al Ghul, his former sensei (teacher) in Batman Begins, Talia al Ghul his old flame and Bane, another League graduate, in Dark Knight Rises. Green Arrow, also a ninja, fights them on Arrow. Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Daredevil fight the Hand together on The Defenders ''(Lopez, 1993; Downey, 1975; Ben-Jocannan; 1972; Corcoran, 1994; TV Tropes Wiki, 2006-18). Bmup1p22.jpg|Brother Muscle beats Ninjas. '''In Brother Muscle:' * Brother Muscle defeated a swarm of holographic hostile ninja in a garden, with comic book -inspired Rings of Power, an Unobtainium shield and a Boom Stick, during a computer simulation. His rings were various rayguns, based on Green Lantern's, his shield on Capt. America's and his police baton was derived from Daredevil's, only with a Stun Ray. The villains were inspired by Dark Age comic books he read as Freddy Hartmann. * Out-of-universe, the author, Darla Lathan and her roommate, took free martial arts lessons in ninjitsu, kung fu and capoeira, from a sensei they met on Craigslist. * In Renown & Fascinator, the revised edition, in the '80s, Natasha Horner (Tasha Horner) Reality Warped a ninja uniform in her backpack, to support her cover story she Dominated her would-be sexual predators and all witnesses to believe, in order to cover her public use of Super Strength to defend herself from her elementary school classmates on a school bus. Her Extraterrestrial powers were the family secret. She was inspired by this incident to become the superhero Renown (Ultraperson). At the same time, Darryl Frederick Hartmann was influenced by his father's advice and ninja magazines, video games and cable movies to harness his autistic tantrums as a Bully Hunter, from kindergarten to high school. As a pre-operative transgender woman, fighting was Darryl/Dannika's only macho skill. After his Freak Lab Accident turned him into the Altered Human superhero Fascinator (Brother Muscle), he could easily imitate ninjitsu moves from the above sources, with his now paranormal coordination(Lathan, 2013,2019). Acknowledgements: * Ben-Jochannan, Yosef, Black Man of the Nile and his Family (1972) * Corcoran, John, The Martial Arts Sourcebook (1994) * Downey, Douglas W. M.S., ed, et al, New Standard Encyclopedia, Vol. I (1975) * Frederic, Louis, et al, A Dictionary of the Martial Arts (1988) * Guiley, Rosemary E., Harper's Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience (1991) * Lathan, D.V., Brother Muscle & Ultraperson #1-2 (1993; rev. 1999; publ. 2013, 2019) * Lopez, Daniel, Films By Genre (1993) * Maggio, Rosalie, The Dictionary of Bias-Free Usage (1991) * TV Tropes Wiki (2006-18) Category:Characters Category:Combat Category:Ethnic Category:Emergencies Category:Alignments Category:Paranormal Category:Media